


Guilt of the Survivors

by anysin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Self-blaming, Underage Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 16:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17564021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anysin/pseuds/anysin
Summary: After Weirdmageddon, Ford and Mabel comfort each other over Dipper's death. Fordbel.





	Guilt of the Survivors

“Great Uncle Ford?”

Ford has been sitting on the porch, a bottle of liquor in hand. When Mabel appears on the doorway, he almost drops the bottle out of shame; however, he doesn’t want to fill the porch with shards, so instead, he lowers it carefully down on the floor. Mabel glances at it, but she doesn’t address it otherwise as she walks over to sit next to Ford.

“Are you okay?” Mabel asks, which almost makes Ford want to laugh; he should be the one asking her that, really. He nods, not looking at her; he glances down at their legs instead, noting how small Mabel’s feet are compared to his.

Dipper’s had been, too.

He tenses when Mabel’s hand comes to rest on top of his own, squeezing his knuckles.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” she asks him, her voice very soft.

At the Fearamid, Bill had Dipper and Mabel in his grasp. Stan, as Ford, shouted at him to stop, telling him he’d surrender; that should have been it. Bill was supposed let Dipper and Mabel go, too greedy for the chance to destroy the world to care about revenge anymore. Dipper and Mabel were supposed to be all right.

Instead, Bill said:

“Just a sec, I think I need a snack first!”

The red flash of a pine tree in his eye will stay with Ford forever.

Ford stiffens when he feels Mabel touch his cheek, especially when he realizes that it’s wet, that he’s crying. It makes him snort with bitter laughter; what right does he have to cry? If not for his countless mistakes and failures, Dipper would have never been in that situation. He would still be here, still with Mabel, on his way home. He has robbed Dipper of his life and it’s grotesque that Mabel is showing him compassion when he deserves none.

“It’s my fault,” he says; he has to correct her about that. “You know it is. If not for me-”

“Grunkle Ford, no.” He can spot from the corner of his eye that Mabel is shaking her head, that she’s now getting up on her knees on the bench so she can wipe at his cheek with her sleeve, brushing away his tears. “Bill killed him. You’re not Bill.”

Her voice is shaky, indicating she’s about to cry. Ford inhales, trying to get his feelings under control so he can focus on comforting her, but before he can do that, she shocks him with a simple declaration:

“Besides, it’s all my fault.”

He can’t believe it. “Mabel, how can you say that? You did nothing!”

“I did everything!” Mabel is screaming, making Ford jump; when he turns towards her, her face is red, cheeks streaked with thin tracks of tears as she grabs his shoulder, shaking at it as she shouts: “Grunkle Ford, none of it would have happened if I hadn’t given Bill the Rift! Dipper would be your apprentice and he would still be here!”

“Mabel, no!” Ford turns fully towards her on the bench, grabbing Mabel from her arms so he can make her focus on him, staring her in the eye. “You just said it yourself, it was Bill! He tricked you! He tricks everyone!”

“I should have known better!”

“How could you? No one ever did!”

They shout at each other for a while, with Ford trying to deny each accusation that Mabel comes up with against herself, until Mabel finally breaks down sobbing and falls forward against Ford, burying her face against his sweater. Ford wraps his arms around her, hugging her tight as he presses his face into her hair, sobbing himself now too.

“I should have talked to you more.”

“I should have just talked to you.”

Mabel reaches out with her arms, pulling herself upward so she can press her face into Ford’s neck. Ford rubs his face against Mabel’s thick hair, exhaling a sobbing breath as he rubs Mabel’s back with both hands, trying to ease her crying. He doesn’t know if there is easing it, not really, but maybe he can offer her  _something_  at least.

It’s more than he can give himself, in any case.

Eventually, their sobs do ease, but they keep holding onto each other tight. At some point, Mabel starts to pull away from Ford’s embrace, and Ford loosens his grip on her, ready to let her go.

Instead of pulling fully away, however, Mabel reaches up and grasps Ford’s face between her hands, looking him in the eye for a moment before tipping her face up, pressing her mouth quickly against his. It’s a light, chaste touch, but it burns on Ford’s lips long after Mabel pulls away, using her sleeve once again to wipe away the fresh tracks of tears.

“I’m sorry,” she says, softly. “Please don’t feel bad, Grunkle Ford. It isn’t your fault.”

He doesn’t believe that, he never will. But he’s exhausted, so he just nods to her, not wanting her to exert herself anymore tonight.

“Not your fault either,” he says.

She stares at him, and he has no idea whether she believes his words or not. But she gives him a little smile, nodding as she settles down to sit next to him, wrapping her arm around his waist as she leans against him.

Ford rests his own arm around her shoulders, leaning over to rest his cheek on the top of her head. Maybe it’s all right for them both to pretend, tonight.


End file.
